Crack—
The sound of gears turning echoed as a small flame ignited, lighting a cigarette.
A few wisps of smoke rose lazily into the air as Sarutobi Asuma, holding the cigarette between two fingers, took a deep drag, exhaling with a sigh of relaxation before turning to his three students.
"We've arrived at the Land of Waves. The mission to escort the delegation is half complete. Once we drop them off at their lodgings, you'll have two days off. So, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino—feel free to go explore wherever you'd like."
Upon hearing this, Shikamaru shrugged, looking exhausted as usual. "Forget it, I'd rather just catch up on some sleep."
Although this mission hadn't been dangerous, dealing with the Fire Nation's aristocrats had been exhausting.
They were impossible to satisfy—one day they'd get tired of riding in a palanquin, decide it was too early to keep traveling, and insist on camping early.
The next day, they'd complain about the discomfort of camping outdoors and deviate from the planned route to rest in a town. Once in town, they'd spend the entire day listening to music and enjoying other luxuries.
Shikamaru had been on many missions and dealt with all sorts of clients, but these particular officials from the Fire Nation were different. They acted however they pleased, yet were oddly friendly with the ninja.
Whenever they had something good to eat, drink, or enjoy, they'd invite the team to join, sharing in the luxury. It was a strange balance of camaraderie and frustration, as they never listened to the ninja's advice for their own safety.
Thankfully, there had been no enemy attacks along the way. Otherwise, with how disorganized their journey had become, there would've been trouble.
Now that the delegation was safely delivered to the Land of Waves, all Shikamaru wanted was to sleep without interruption.
Choji also wasn't keen on moving, but for different reasons. Thanks to the lavish food shared by the officials, he had eaten more than enough on the trip and was now in dire need of digestion.
In the end, the only one interested in exploring the unfamiliar country was Ino. Unlike Shikamaru, who was mentally drained, and Choji, who was physically overstuffed, Ino was excited. This was her first time near the ocean, and she was eager to enjoy the beach, which had also been visited by her friend Sakura and where some fascinating stories had unfolded.
"This is my first time at the seaside! I'm definitely going to play on the beach."
She had even packed a swimsuit in preparation.
"Go if you want," Asuma said, leading his students and the delegation to their lodgings.
As they arrived at the inn, they noticed something strange nearby: a once-grand daimyo's mansion, now reduced to ruins. Only a signboard had been erected, and the rest of the place was still undergoing reconstruction.
"Was this place bombed? And the target was the daimyo's mansion?"
Unlike his students, who had grown up in the Hidden Leaf Village, Asuma, a former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
He quickly questioned the Land of Waves official who had been guiding them.
The official responded, "A while ago, some rebellious nobles, who opposed the daimyo's rule, hired ninja to assassinate the new daimyo. Fortunately, the daimyo's hired protectors, the Rockhead Clan, were present. After a fierce battle, they defeated the enemies and thwarted the conspiracy. The daimyo's mansion was destroyed as a result of the fight."
"An internal conflict, huh," Asuma nodded knowingly.
As long as it wasn't another village trying to interfere with the Land of Waves, it was fine.
As for the Rockhead Clan, Asuma had heard of them. They were a mercenary group with a solid reputation, known for their strength and their lack of ties to any of the hidden villages.
He wasn't particularly concerned about mercenary ninja who simply worked for money.
"The enemy must've been quite strong," Shikamaru remarked, observing the ruins of the mansion and analyzing the aftermath of the battle.
"Indeed. But since the incident is over, it's not our place to delve any further," Asuma patted Shikamaru on the shoulder, then led the group inside.
...
The night passed without incident.
The next day, with Shikamaru unwilling to get out of bed and Choji too focused on indulging in the local cuisine, Ino found herself lamenting her teammates' laziness. Frustrated that they were wasting the opportunity to join her at the beach, she muttered that they'd never get a date in their lives. Finally, she decided to head to the beach alone, bringing along her swimsuit.
As an island nation, the Land of Waves boasted a beautiful golden beach with pristine waters. Although the beach wasn't heavily developed, it still attracted visitors.
However, because the former daimyo had made life so difficult for the citizens that they could barely afford food, few people had leisure time for beach outings.
Now that the daimyo was dead, the country was in mourning, and those who had just begun to recover from hard times didn't dare break the solemn atmosphere by enjoying themselves at the beach.
Only a select few, like the ninja, were indifferent to such concerns.
One such person had already arrived early at the beach, lounging on a beach chair he'd brought with him, sunglasses on, enjoying the sun and sea breeze.
This wasn't Hagoromo Gensou's first visit to the beach.
After wrapping up his business with Deidara, he had discovered this beach and now often came here to relax on good weather days and contemplate his training.
While his training had been progressing steadily, Gensou had recently encountered a major problem.
Both the Truth-Seeking Orbs and the mastery of the Bloodline Collection were his key focus areas, but lately, the progress of the two had fallen out of sync.
Normally, the process of creating Truth-Seeking Orbs and integrating the powers of the Bloodline Collection went hand in hand.
Both required a full understanding and mastery of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, intertwining and harmonizing these forces. The main difference was that the Truth-Seeking Orbs required less chakra and were smaller in scale, while the Bloodline Collection demanded much more chakra and was larger in scope.
Typically, Gensou would make progress with the Truth-Seeking Orbs first, using the insights gained to enhance his work with the Bloodline Collection. This method had worked well for a long time.
But recently, something had gone wrong.
While his mastery of the Truth-Seeking Orbs continued to improve, his progress with the Bloodline Collection had stagnated.
At first, Gensou didn't pay it much attention, as it was normal for the orbs to advance faster than the Bloodline Collection.
However, as time went on and his understanding of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements deepened, and as his ability to maintain the orbs for longer periods grew, he realized that the same techniques and principles weren't having any effect on his Bloodline Collection training.
More specifically, it wasn't that they had no effect—it was that, at the critical moment of completion, something invisible seemed to block the final integration. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through.
It became clear that even if he perfected the Truth-Seeking Orbs, it would not unlock the full potential of the Bloodline Collection, as he had once hoped.
"So... could it be a chakra issue?" Gensou pondered.
(End of Chapter)
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